Thursday, April 26, 2007

Solar farms??

I would like to be excited about recent news in both the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star, of integrating solar power into the Ontario energy system. Would like to, however I can't imagine a worse way of doing so than losing more precious green space for the project. It's a good idea in theory, but one major benefit of solar power is that it can be used by individuals, that it doesn’t need a massive grid, that it can be installed on rooftops, that it can be installed over existing concrete spaces to turn a negative (concrete retaining heat) into a positive (clean energy generation).

Am I alone in thinking that it is counterproductive to lose valuable land to a project such as this? We have an opportunity to decentralize power systems. Will we not take advantage of that? I hope environmental organizations are ready for the drive of innovation to come in the next few years. Wouldn't it be shame to follow years of bad decisions with yet more bad, or ill-informed choices?? I want to make sure the good news is really good news.